Vadodara: The Local Crime Branch (LCB) on Sunday busted a fake call centre operating from the Race Course area and arrested four men accused of cheating foreign nationals through a fraudulent loan approval scheme.

Acting on a tip-off, LCB officials raided an apartment and found the accused allegedly running the operation using laptops, mobile phones and other electronic devices.

The arrested individuals have been identified as Karan Lokwani (32), Jonathon Das (32), Pankaj Jethwani (40), and Alerasul Saiyad (34), all residents of Vadodara.

According to police, the gang targeted foreign citizens by falsely claiming that their loan applications had been approved. Victims were then asked to share their debit card details and CVV numbers and pay between USD 150 and USD 200 as processing fees.

Investigators said part of the money collected was allegedly converted into cryptocurrency before being routed to Indian bank accounts.

Police said the accused obtained contact details of foreign nationals from the dark web and had been operating the fake call centre for the past two months. Officials are now examining bank records, cryptocurrency transactions and seized digital devices to determine the extent of the fraud.

A case has been registered at Akota Police Station, and further investigation is underway to identify other possible links to the racket. DeshGujarat